Reviews (page 2 of 8)
This is the third time in my life that I've given Sebadoh a chance and the first time I've made it all the way through an album. I love this era of music, love DIY stuff, and like Dinosaur Jr. So I keep thinking I'd like this. I don't. It's like a high school band where everything is played poorly, arranged poorly, recorded poorly, and sung poorly. Maybe, just maybe, if anyone got their shit together and tried it would be better but instead it's just a loose pile of sounds.
This is a messy record if varying quality, but there are some real high points. Sole single "Soul And Fire" is by far my favourite track here. It is a lo-fi break-up song with tons of heart. Short tracks like "Emma Get Wild" and "Sixteen" felt like sketches of songs that haven't been fleshed out yet and don't add anything to the album as a whole. When this album gets noisy, it just reminds me of a weaker Pavement. Acoustic ballad "Think (Let Tomorrow Bee)" would be a perfect way to wrap up the record, but instead this closes on the forgettable "Flood". I enjoyed parts of this and will come back to individual songs, but I'm not sure how often I will come back to the full album.
Ég var alls ekki að fíla þessa plötu. Slacker rokkið gerir ekki oft mikið fyrir mig. Ljótt og leiðinlegt.
Fínasta indí lofi. Nær ekki alveg fjarkanum.
A commendable effort at a post-punk sound, but if you're gonna do that you better nail it or it'll sound awful. It was listenable but they're still out of their league
they were one of the Cool Kids™️ bands when I was in high school, and unlike a lot of them sebadoh delivers. 4/5.
01) Soul and Fire - 6,0 02) Two Years Two Days - 6,0 03) Telecosmic Alchemy - 5,5 04) Fantastic Disaster - 5,0 05) Happily Divided - 5,0 06) Sister - 5,5 07) Cliche - 5,0 08) Sacred Attention - 5,5 09) Elixir Is Zog - 5,0 10) Emma Get Wild - 5,0 11) Sixteen - 5,5 12) Homemade - 5,0 13) Forced Love - 5,0 14) No Way Out - 5,0 15) Bouquet for a Siren - 5,0 16) Think (Let Tomorrow Bee) - 6,0 17) Flood - 5,0 TOTAL: 5,29 (53/100) Current ranking: 914/1016
walla så bra. Äntligen lite indie rock, verkar vara det första??? Bra känsla och sounden men väldigt rått, inte heller något som grep tag i mig men en stabil 7/10
Not really my sought of music. But good enough
Sorti en 1993 sur le label Sub Pop, Bubble & Scrape est un pavé, jeté dans la mare de l'indie rock, qui sent la chambre d’étudiant mal aérée, la bande magnétique tordue dans un magnétophone quatre pistes récalcitrant et les ruptures amoureuses réglées à coups de larsens. C’est rugueux, c’est foutraque, ça part dans tous les sens, mais c’est précisément pour ça que c'est un pur chef-d’œuvre du genre. Avec une note de 4 sur 5, ce monument lo-fi s’impose comme un véritable must-have pour quiconque veut comprendre ce que le rock alternatif américain des années 90 avait dans les tripes quand il refusait de se lustrer pour passer sur MTV. Pour bien mesurer l’onde de choc de ce quatrième véritable effort, il faut rappeler d’où vient Lou Barlow. Viré sans ménagement de Dinosaur Jr. par un J. Mascis pas franchement réputé pour sa diplomatie ni son envie de partager la lumière, Lou Barlow n'a pas perdu son temps à pleurnicher dans son coin. Avec son comparse Eric Gaffney, puis l'arrivée déterminante de Jason Loewenstein, Sebadoh est rapidement devenu le laboratoire anarchique et libérateur d’un rock bricolé avec les moyens du bord. Et quand Nirvana a ouvert les vannes du grand cirque alternatif mondial en 1991 avec la bénédiction de l'industrie, une frange de musiciens a choisi de faire exactement l'inverse : rester les mains dans le cambouis, enregistrer sur des formats pourris et faire de l'imperfection une esthétique totale. Sebadoh n'était pas seul dans cette tranchée — Pavement ou Guided By Voices érigeaient aussi le débraillé en art majeur à la même époque —, mais Bubble & Scrape a réussi à capturer quelque chose de plus viscéral, de plus urgent et de plus attachant. Ce qui fait la force absolue de cet album, c’est qu’il refuse d’être le simple journal intime de Lou Barlow. On a trop souvent tendance à résumer Sebadoh à son membre le plus médiatique, mais Bubble & Scrape est une véritable démocratie du chaos. C'est un triptyque où trois personnalités s'affrontent et se complètent à coups de riffs tordus et d'idées brutes. Barlow y distille son génie habituel de la ballade écorchée vive, cette pop mélancolique et névrosée qui vous prend aux tripes dès la première phrase. À ses côtés, Jason Loewenstein apporte une sève beaucoup plus agressive et tendue, capable de basculer en un clin d'œil d'une lourdeur punk hargneuse à une mélodie plombée par le spleen. Et enfin, il y a le trublion Eric Gaffney, dont les expérimentations déjantées, bruitistes et abrasives agissent comme des électrochocs au milieu du disque. Ce sera d’ailleurs son chant du cygne avec la bande, puisqu'il quittera le navire peu de temps après, laissant derrière lui un album qui sonne comme l'équilibre parfait — bien que précaire — de leurs trois visions. L'écoute de Bubble & Scrape ressemble à une promenade sur un fil au-dessus d'un précipice de larsens et d'émotions adolescentes mal digérées. L’album ne cherche jamais à plaire ni à lisser ses transitions : un morceau peut démarrer comme une comptine acoustique fragile pour finir désintégré sous une avalanche de distorsion primitive. La production n'est pas "propre", elle est vivante. On entend les doigts glisser sur les cordes, le souffle des amplis poussés à bout, les voix qui vacillent et qui refusent de tricher. Loin d'être une posture branchée ou une paresse technique, cette approche lo-fi devient ici le véhicule le plus pur de la sincérité. C’est la collision frontale entre l’écriture pop la plus fine et une furieuse envie de tout saboter avant que cela ne devienne trop sage. En fin de compte, Bubble & Scrape ne se contente pas d'être un bon disque d'indie rock : il en est l'un des manifestes les plus éclatants. Plus de trois décennies après sa parution, alors que tant de productions léchées de l'époque ont pris un coup de vieux fatal, cette collection de fulgurances bancales conserve une fraîcheur intacte. C'est le son d'un groupe qui n'avait rien à vendre, tout à prouver, et qui a gravé sur bande magnétique un condensé de rage, de vulnérabilité et de génie mélodique. Un quatre étoiles franc, massif et amplement mérité pour un indispensable de nos discothèques.
fire af
Disco sensacional de rock alternativo. Que banda maravilhosa é Sebadoh. TRIxHBB Kai.
As I always say, the most important things for me personally when it comes to music is two things, variety and a sense of humor. Not every album has to be a kaleidoscope of genres and not every album has to be a comedy album. But any album that can manage both of those things while also focusing on being original will win me over pretty easily. So is the case with this album. This album was so inherently interesting to me I had to do research on the band themselves (which i intentionally try to avoid cause I don’t want anything outside of the album to influence my review) but I couldn’t help myself this time. Which frankly, is usually a good thing cause that means the material made me extra curious. In this case it led to me to learn a lot about the band dinosaur jr. I’ve always been a fan of Dinosaur jr. But outside of a few songs here and there, I don’t know them that well. As it turns out, one of the prominent members of said band is the founding and head creative member a guy named Lou Barlow. Turns out, this guys felt alittle held down by the former band so he left and eventually created Sebadoh. Which I also learned is just a nonsense word created by Barlow that he would usually say on early recordings. Long story short, this album has so much variety it’s insane. I’m also learning that I really love this low fi alt rock scene like pavement. The album contains funny songs that are wildly endearing like “homemade”, there’s a bunch of stuff that’s alittle heavier like “sister” and “Emma get wild”. There’s just so much I love about this album! It’s hard to even put it all into words, but the greatest praise I can give this album, and I mean it, is that they really have something similar to Ween (the greatest thing to ever happen to music). While this may be wild and jarring to someone who doesn’t like low fi sounding music or somebody who doesn’t like there to be left turns and departures in their albums, if you are like me THIS IS AN IDEAL ALBUM! Genuinely one of the best things I’ve discovered from this list so far
I liked the more mellow side of these songs, but overall this felt very uneven. The rougher songs had a punk feel to them, which was probably intentional, but I found a few of them borderline unlistenable. But, on the nicer side, the more mellow ones are reminiscent of the indie rock that was to come, so seeing that influence was cool. Overall though, 2.5/5
I liked some songs and I really didn’t like others
Idk, didn't really like it, it's as if they're trying to sound bad? I read a review that said that when you hear it you have a feeling that you might like something but you never really get there. I think that's true, you never do A complete meh
(3/7) I liked the first few but the rest of this is noisy, reminds me of Sonic Youth
This is rad. Punk, indie, hardcore. Proto grunge? Sad songs. Heavy songs. Kind of funny songs. This rocks.
This is #day743 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I can surely see this band as part of the '90s American indie rock scene alongside, say, Pavement, maybe even Sonic Youth, too, though it's not something I'd be willing to put on by myself. You have to be in the zone for these lo-fi indie rock sketches, and I don't think I'm quite there right now. Let it be a 3 out of 5 for now. Looking forward to #day744.
This was a nice surprise on my car journey down the M1 from Leeds, never heard of the band, but a fucking great album, loved it, good mixture.
white trash, only really enjoyed the 1 min snippets in the middle of the album, nevermind also shite Shame because the album cover is cool but you aren't mean to say that are you
Meh
At the outset, this struck me as something I could imagine listening to in a college bar. The quirkiness of the time change that begins with the first tune is interesting, but the lack of polish that accompanies the experimentation through the remainder of the album gets to be a bit too much.
I’d never heard Sebadoh before so I had to read up on them. Seeing that this was a Sub Pop release from 1993 immediately made me wonder if the label was trying to snatch up another Seattle sound band while grunge was still huge. They were from the Northeast, but the fuzzy guitars, rough production, and general slacker vibe definitely sound like they belong in that same early 90s universe. The first part of the album was actually pretty good. It’s noisy and unpolished, but there are enough hooks underneath all the fuzz to keep it interesting. I was starting to think this might sneak into 4-star territory. Then the second half happened. It gets a lot less interesting and starts wandering into weirdness without giving me much reason to follow it. “No Way Out” was just plain weird. Not interesting weird either, just “what the hell am I listening to?” weird. Strong enough start to save it from a 2, but the back half dragged the whole thing down.
I always thought Sebadoh were boring. Glad this project has forced me to relisten and reevaluate. Yes it’s still sleepy lo-fi grunge. But I get it. Not perfect, yet I’ll adding to my collection.
The DIY recordings take a bit to warm up to but all in all a decent noise rock album. Puts me in mind in a favorable way of Archers Of Loaf.
Both loud and noisy, But never good or pleasing. This album sucks balls.
2,4 Highlights: Soul and Fire, Think (Let Tomorrow Be)
I want to change the name of this challenge to “1001 Album You May Want To Check Out If You Are Completely Bored and May Possibly Waste Your Time Listening To.”
Lite för tråkigt och konstigt, och jag var i fel mode
Bubbles and crap would match better. Crap for the first songs and quite pleasant grunge style songs after. Globally 2.5
Liked the first song but tailed off
Variety! It’s the spice of life
Mostly ok, with some annoying sections.
No, not for me.
A couple decent songs that are surrounded by over an hour of subpar music.
Edited down to just the faster, harder tracks, this would be ace. But having kept in the lifeless ones and the wacky ones (shudder) brings it down. Feeling generous and have just listened to Emma Get Wild again, so going 3.
boooooooring Best Song: Soul and Fire Rating: 3.0/10 Stars: 2
Как будто просто студенты у кого-то на хате решили побренчать.
Это было ужасно. Несколько песен даже не смог дослушать до конца. Все время ждал скорейшего завершения альбома
jaoooooooooooo ovaj je album mogao biti tolko dobar... glazbeno je načelno jako dobar. prvi problem: žešće pjesme, deračina - nula bodova, ništa. drugi problem: za dobar dio pjesama nađu način da ih nekako useru, npr. »homemade« je dosta dobra pjesma, ali onda dođe onaj neki emo/vikalački polurefren koji potpuno uništi dotadašnji ugođaj. sve u svemu jedna velika šteta, dajem trojku jer mi je jednostavno za trojku, ali mi je toliko žao jer bi uz poneke filtre album bio bez problema za četvorku, pa možda i nešto bolje...
New favourite!
This was a rough listen. There are a few calmer songs which are pretty good such as Think (Let Tomorrow Bee) or Happily Divided, but the majority of the album is unlistenable. The absolute nadir of the album is track four which is not Fantastic but certainly a Disaster. 2/10
Some songs on the album weren’t bad, but overall I never want to hear it again.
1.5/5 Favorite Song: Soul And Fire
Sounds like they're trying to be Sonic Youth and I fucking hate Sonic Youth.
Takes some time to get used to the singing style, and they are occasionally tempo challenged, but pretty interesting at points.
Hit or miss but not a bad discovery
Alright slacker rock, very reminiscent of Dinosaur Jr and Pavement, I'm already not the biggest fan of that style and this album seems a little watered down from the best artists
its fine. decent early 90s music but some odd additions to some songs. more listens might make it better.
It's completely unremarkable, and another one of those albums that get a safe three-star rating just because. If you like a typical alternative Rock sound, this album is for you. I wish I could add more depth, but I just can't this time. It's a very generic album from a band many of us never knew existed. Favorite Track: "No Way Out".
neat
Liked a few of the songs quite a lot, the others were fine. A good variety of 90's sounds though, I feel like a lot of grungy alt falls into generic sounding pits and only a quarter of this album really gave that vibe. Trying to hear the lyrics, I had my volume up way too loud on some songs and was probably getting genuine hearing damage so maybe the mixing could be improved on a couple tracks. Calling it now, Bretton's favorite was Fantastic Disaster or Elixir is Zog Favorite(s): Sacred Attention Homemade (generic but really catchy) Least: Elixir is Zog 3/5
Fav: Two Years Two Days, Think L: Telecosmic Alchemy, Sixteen 2.5 Listening to this felt like eating a bunch of different jelly bellies. Some were pretty good, some were a funny novelty and some were awful.
It deleted my notes. Bummer. All in all, pretty good album. Maybe with time it's one of want on vinyl. Every now and then it's nice to have a consistent indie album to put on. Low stakes but not braindead. Pavement is a bit like that for me. W: soul and fire, a few others forgor L: sister, cliche 3/5
Started off fine, but got a little more dissonant and harder to listen to as it went on. Just alright lo-fi indie/alternative at its best, but doesn't quite stack up to similar acts such as Guided By Voices or Pavement in my eyes.
Pas dingue
*1993. *First song is great and I really thought I'd stumbled on a hidden gem. *There are 3 distinct styles throughout - Pearl Jam style early 90s rock (yay!), indie (yay!), bizarre wannabe hard core type sound (ack!). *I like about 1/2 of the songs here but had to quickly skip a number of tracks because just... no. RATING - 6/10
Surprised me, but in a pleasant way
Not as good as I remembered. Sidenote: the sound quality on Apple Music was so bad it was unlistenable. Much, much better on YouTube Music!
A bit strange, but not too bad.
twijflegeval... soort van pavement light
Rate: 8/10.
This is my kind of groove
Indicative of its time, but doesn't really resonate with me.
I spent time previewing this one, and I honestly think listening to cats howling/yeowling while scratching their claws on chalkboards would have been more pleasant.
Started off meh and then went downhill fast. I quit on the 4th song.
It was ok. Not really for me. Maybe listened to half of it as I really wasn't in the mood for experiments today. Maybe I can revisit one day but it's not high on the priority list for me. 5/10
Nope. Very generic and forgettable 90s indie rock. I could have lived without this one.
Very much early 90s low fi rock and I know it's probably influential and all, but it feels like a movie cut from mostly bloopers. I liked some dissonance to spice things up, but this just seems amatourish.
Thought this was canny but not quite as good as it’s legacy or it’s peers. Prefer Pavement / Superchunk / Dinosaur Jr etc. I just think they do it better, but then I also think it could be that I’ve built these up in my mind for years. Theyre always recommended as a band I’d like, so perhaps it’s my own fault. That said, I still think this is very good. I have a soft spot for this slacker / dive / diy indie sound, especially when it’s as heartbroken as this. Perhaps a few more listens will put them on a similar pedestal as the others
Enjoyed this a lot, the sort of choppy indie I like but felt charmingly thrown together and has some noisy turns. Reminded me of mudhoney despite their genre differences, felt similarly DIY with a large number of short tracks, guess that's the sub pop sound. Was a bit one note at times so more a 4 than a 5 but still great.
Don't quite know what to make of this. Really enjoyed Soul And Fire (sneaky immediate tempo change), Elixir is Zog, and Think (Let Tomorrow Be), but some of the stuff in between these excellent tracks was a bit dry. Much more immediate than the noise rock of Dinosaur Jr, but without as cool a name. Really competent music-making overall though, scrapes a 4.
Had to go back and give this a second listen as I wasn't sure after the first for some reason. This feels like something I should really like, and feels really familiar but I cannot work out why..... I do think this is good, but something doesn't quite grab me fully. It was interesting throughout though and I probably will come back to it. 3.5
Some okay slacker and indie rock here, about as solid and consistent as anyone could want in its best moments. But it certainly wasn't bringing anything very unique to the genre in the '90s. At least nothing worthwhile; when the band goes out of its comfort zone, it doesn't sound great, like with the ballsiness and facetiousness of 'Telecosmic Alchemy' and the nearly unlistenable "Fantastic Disaster' - these cuts just don't work in the context of this album, or as standalone experimental noise interludes. 'Sister' was the best of the noisier cuts; I just really liked the squealing lead, and the whole thing gave a sort of "Big Black" feel. The band is at their peak when they're on the softer side of things. The album starts strong enough with 'Soul and Fire', a pretty expansive and tone-setting track, with these booming overdriven guitar hits that reminded me of a group like 'Built To Spill'. 'Sacred Attention' had some really neat guitar work; despite its simplicity, it also managed to capture that larger-than-life feel of the opener. And the funky scratchy guitar and bass groove opening up 'Emma Get Wild' was great; the rest of the song is pretty good as well, instrumentally at least, pretty punky. An album that has its charms and some genuinely solid moments, but is unbelievably bogged down by the awful atonal cuts laced throughout. I'm all for noisy, unconventional cuts, but they're just not executed well at all here - especially on the vocal front. I can enjoy a good amateurish vocal delivery (especially in this kind of music), to bring up Build to Spill and Modest Mouse again, but it feels too forced here and doesn't add any sort of character to the thing - it's just annoying. And the worst part is, when it's not being loud and brash, it's middling and generic a good chunk of the time, with just a few solid moments throughout.
Boring then just bad.
Cool stuff. Not really my vibe, but I liked listening to some new music. 5/10
This did not appeal to me.
Pretty upset at everything now and this kinda helps, nice lo-fi. 4/5
A frustrating listen. Every time I was ready to write it off as hipster grunge nonsense, they hit me with an actual tune.
Started off strong but then got too much sonic youthy and not in a good way, then just kept going
thought of Beck’s album “Mellow Gold” when listening to this
dit was een album vol met verassingen.. maar eerlijk ik vibe er wel mee
Nicht schlecht, da wär aber mehr drin gewesen.
Klingen wie Dinosaur Jr., sofern mal alles subtrahiert, was an Dinosaur Jr. interessant ist.
Heck yeah! I just saw Lou with Dinosaur Jr. last Friday. It was his 60th birthday, I felt privileged to be there for such a cool occasion. I really enjoy this type of lo-fi rock. For this style of music it's really well done in my opinion.
The journey felt inconsistent and jarring
Give yourself the true 1993 listening experience by trying to figure out how each lyric is a reference to J. Mascis in some way. Ends on kind of a limp note with that last song when the song before that was a prefect closer. Overall very good though.
What a completely random selection for a list of 1001 albums I must hear before I die. It's certainly a serviceable example of a sort of proto-grunge effort, but nothing particularly memorable stands out among the tracks.
Yesterday I praised Alice Cooper for showcasing a diversity of styles on "School's Out," but this is an album which toils in the same space to an effect which I would describe as "uneven." There's some good here - quite a bit, in fact, but it's stretched too thin across the runtime of the album. And that's without listening to the extended tracklist of the reissue! I don't see how this album could be described as essential listening, and I may revisit a few songs in the future but not the whole of it. Favorite track: "Homemade"
I can't say I enjoyed this a lot. It wasn't thaaat bad compared to other shit on this list, but it wasn't good either. It sounded like a garage band practicing their really easy songs. Not bad, but easy.
Bien
Enjoyed it. Didn’t hit me like the greatest thing ever, but a good listen
This sounds like something you would find in the 90s clearance bin.
Dinosaur jr jr. Modestest Mouse. Stephen Malkmus and no Jicks.
Interesting as it combines many genres together Pop , Punk , metal ,
Solid indie rock
Sounded a lot like Nirvana so you'd know this was a B-tier grunge band from the early 90s. It wasn't particularly strong but it was lo-fi so idk.
An interesting early lo fi rock album, while i didn't love all of what it tried to do and some of its better moments in songs have become conventional now, the best of this album slaps. A very mid af, bizarre and threowing b.s. at the wall first half of this album made this a a. Some legit great songs and overall decent rest bumped it up a ton, sadly it's one package.
this feels like im drinking a warm beer at some garage show for a band of high schoolers
3/10
Sitt müra. Tüübid said garaažis kokku ja otsustasid kõik oma pilli erinevas tempos ja helistikus mängida. Vahepeal mõni "laulab" ka. Ma ei tea, siin ei ole minu jaoks midagi kuulatavat. Kohutav pask ja ma ei tea, miks see siin nimekirjas on. 1.4/5
I like it. I don't like it. I love it. I hate it. A confusing album with amazing moments and some utter dross.
Alright. Nothing crazy but nothing pops out. Liked the indie rock sounding sounds, but the normal rock is pretty chill
good ole indie rock. sound got really interesting at parts throughout the album but overall i had a good time with this :)
Gear: ZMF Bokeh Closed Artwork: 🔥🧯🖼️ Production: 🎧😖💩 Music: 🎵🔪😿 Rating: 🫧(🫧)/5
#999. I can't tell if it's bad as an artistic choice, or because of a lack of skill. I suspect maybe that's maybe a bit of both. There's some good songs, some nonsense, I dig it. 3/5: acceptable
Yeh,... no, this is really boring, with some presumably deliberately really out of tune harmonica that I just don't get. Don't get it.
Not grunge levels bad, but not good either.
everything that 90s lofi should be; raw and slightly embarrassing
Interesting alternative rock record with some cool songs - a little to lo-fi and sloppy for my taste at times
Ha chli müesse ine cho
There is a 4-star 40-minute album in there somewhere
as much as dinosaur jr IS my jam, sebadoh is not. no shade Lou, just don’t feel it. actually prefer Folk Implosion tbh
‘..reasonably well-crafted Indie rock’ Totally agree. But why did I have to listen to it before I die?
it's pretty wild how modern this sounds. if you told me this was like a 2014 indie release i'd believe you. really like the guy's voice and how strong the lyrics come through, and how they're usually pretty singsongy and attention-grabbing. not every song was my taste but a surprising amount of them were
Ok. This was an album
I just wrote a review a few days ago about how good the music was in the 90s. This album just made me eat my words.
Yet another album that felt just a bit overstuffed. The songs themselves aren’t that long, and with their slacker stylings, they also not that complex or dense, but 17 tracks on an album still felt too long. Felt somewhat like how The Monkees might have sounded if they’d grown up a bit and been transplanted into the 90s weed scene.
Enjoyed the first track but then it became clear that this was just their loss leader to lull unwary punters into a false sense of security.
Poor man's Nirvana. Boring and forgettable.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Not my thing
Only listened for half of it but wasn’t the biggest fan
Mix of good and bad 90s rock, sometimes they want to be Primus and are not
Overall: 10/10 Sebadoh is a band I've wanted to check out ever since I got into Dinosaur Jr., but for some reason I just never got around to it. Once I saw that they had an album in this list, I decided to put off listening to them even longer, and I'm so glad I decided to be patient cause this blew me away. The thing I love the most about this album is the guitar work. It's so strange and creative and I found myself blown away by it at multiple times during this album. I also love that there's a good mix of pretty slow songs and hard rocking weirdo jams. I quite honestly think this could be my favourite new discovery from this list because it's so out there and cool. Fav Song: Fantastic Disaster
I didn't particularly love this one ngl
Bit of a surprise to me. I had never heard of this band, and at first, it seemed like it was the overly pretentious indie rock that you heard about at a coffee shop because you weren't cool enough to discover them. But as it went on, it grew on me, and I get why it's a great album.
I am generally happy with the dissonance, detuned instruments, and flat vocals. That can be fun. From the right people, it can even seem raw and authentic, rather than wrong. Which is a clever trick. Rather, it's the annoying tempo change at the very beginning of the album, knocking down the speed when the whole arrangement implies uplift into the record proper, that let's you know you're being messed with. Denied the simple pleasures of rock'n'roll for mucking about. I know of what I speak, because it is exactly the sort of thing Paul and I would have done. And, on reflection, it got in the way. There are albums that play with your expectation and that elevates the whole thing. And we will come to acts like Throbbing Gristle who are pure aggravation. But you feel like Lou Barlow wants you to actually enjoy the songs. Then get out of the way, Lou! 2 This is charming. 3/5
Meh
Definitely 90s sounding. Sits a bit between punk, grunge and skate punk for me. Compared to all alternatives in these genres it fell pretty flat honestly, and definitely doesn’t feel like anything I’ve missed. Too abrasive and overall bad sounding with not that interesting riffs. Just feels like we’ve had loads of these unknown punk-like albums on the list that sounds very boring and same .Strong 2.
What an absolute slog of an album. It started off bad and then just got worse. I didn’t like the off-key singing, the mixing of the songs or just the songs in general. Sounded like a bad meandering demo. Grungy, pretentious and just not good. 1 star.
Reading the entry in the book, thought this might be one I really dislike. A bit of a mixed bag, probably due to the different songwriters. Recognized a couple songs from alternative radio. 2.5 stars
Glimpse of music I enjoy. Teased and disappointed.
1.17???? это полный пиздец. невозможно скучно, то, что может быть меня заставил послушать заумный мозг в 15, но сейчас? может в лайве это и работает, но в наушниках я умираю со скуки от этого рока Под середину альбома чето разыгрывается наконец, но мне не хочется это слушать больше часа. Ради чего?
I went into Bubble and Scrape not really knowing what to expect, but it turned out to be a total mixed bag. It’s basically a mashup of shoegaze, Pavement-style slacker rock, and some Sonic Youth-esque noise, all recorded like it was done on a cheap tape deck in a garage. It’s definitely raw and messy and the guitars go out of tune and things get pretty weird but that’s honestly where the charm is. It’s a super flawed, gritty little piece of the '90s indie scene that really nails that whole DIY vibe.
Started out nice. Got a little screamy later.
I like the sound but the lyrics are mostly misses for me. Interesting album overall.
Good alt rock record
Considering I had never heard of the band, it was a good listen!
Aaah lofi...I always appreciate the crunchy guitar mixing with the jangly.
#239 listening diary -Soul and Fire is pretty good! -I like how his voice sounds on Happily Divided, it reminded me of Eliott Smith a lil bit. Very 90s sounding 90s album. -Sister was cool, I really like the use of feedback. It does feel like the production isn't up to par. Like this doesn't sound as raw as they wanted it to be, maybe the mix is bit off, like every instrument is a bit too quiet or something. -Cliche was good too, I'm enjoying this so far, coming off of Soul and Fire I felt a bit undewhelmed for 3 or 4 tracks but then it kicked off again. -the songs are well written and interesting, this is a better 3 than many 3 I've given. -There's a couple of songs with post-punk sounding guitars. I do like that.
A poor example of its genre. Clueless as to why it’s here.
This album started as a lazy uninspired rip off of a 90s band playing in a frat basement on a cold January night. Then after a few songs, it got worse. The vocals were well below average, the chord progressions were obvious and dull, and then there were the lyrics. I hope these guys find stable relationships soon so that they can stop whining to us about it song after song. And the final slap in the face? They impose 32 songs on us in this album. You almost have to admire their blind unearned confidence. 32…
Lots of genre mixing of stuff you don’t always see together. Very reminiscent of 90s rock sensibilities with a bit of baroque. It’s scratchy and playful!
This is fairly shitty at times, innit? It occasionally veers into passable territory, which kinda makes it even more disjointed as they can't decide whether they want to be an OK indie/alt/garage band or if they want to be a half-ass punk/noise rock band. I was glad when this one was over. My dog had to leave the room while it was on. 1.9
This started off with a couple of alright songs and then descended into a discordant collection of noise and mumbles lyrics.
Catchy, but some of the songs are really low quality. It has a punk rock quality to it.
If r/malesurvivingspace were an album, it would be this one; I mean, for one thing there's a song here about a Goon Room ("Homemade"). And you know what, that song is actually pretty good! But seriously, folks: these guys have hit upon a fortuitous marriage (ironically) - lo-fi kinda-tunes and production values with tales of the end of their respective relationships. There are some superficial noise-based similarities with Lou Barlow's previous band Dinosaur Jr. but nobody here can play like J Mascis, so they have to get by on ragged production and raw emotion. As you'd expect given the whole lo-fi thing, there are several throwaway tunes that should have stayed thrown away - but for everyone one of those there's at least one stronger moment. And there are plenty of insightful breakup lyrics here - I'm going with "pretending that you're bigger than you really are" from "Happily Divided," which belies its title with every lurch.
A mix of lame indie rock and annoying punk. The only decent track was "Think (Let Tomorrow Bee)".
This is really really terrible.
okay, but also so boring
Entiendo el punto pero demasiada disonancia para mi gusto
Listen out of order since Spotify licensing shenanigans
It had a lot going on but several songs were boppy
Sounds like if Matthew Sweet decided to be dour and atonal. So very early 90s.
This is a bit much,.
Why is this album SO LONG. Fav song is ‘Elixir is Zog’.
Me encantaron las letras y como música como esta tiene casi una función arqueológica.
I really liked the first two tracks and one or two others. Other than that, the album is pretty average. I’ll likely listen to the 2-3 songs I liked but can’t see myself playing the whole album again.
Tuesday, 16 June, 2026 Bloomsday! Side two saved this album from a two star. “Sacred attention” in particular, and the couple songs around it.
I am now 454 albums into the 1089 (Yes, I also thought it was 1001). It's like summiting Everest as an outsider before white people realized they could exploit the poor local population to whisk them and their gear up the mountain. I have nearly been claimed by yawning crevasses echoing faintly with pseudo protest anthems and British no-wave. They may call it mountain madness, but I swear I saw that guy who was on the Sopranos that plays guitar for Big "man of the people" billionaire baby man, Brucie Boy Springsteeno. Violent ice storms abound. Most of my crew has vanished. I stay determined, albeit a tad hopeless that this endeavour will bear any fruit. In this interminable trek towards an unknown end, a nice little genre bending, shouty indie/slacker rock day feels like I can open my parka and enjoy a rare blast of warm air. No corpses to step over today and a relatively gentle slope. I know this reprieve warns of treacherous conditions tomorrow. There is a storm brewing and I'm sure it'll emanate from the UK. 3.5 HIGHLIGHTS: You know, I don't think they use construction paper in construction.
I enjoyed this album listen from Sebadoh! I’d never heard of this band or album but I thought this was a solid album. Overall, I thought this was a satisfying alt rock/indie rock album with punk influences and I would listen to it again!
I liked some of this (the grungier bits) but really DIDN’T like the rest. Not my cuppa.
Sensational
I hadn’t heard this whole album for some reason. It’s a bit inconsistent, bit the good songs are so good. Great, chill, 90s vibe ala Teenage Fanclub or Pavement
I wish people who didn't know how to play harmonica would wait till they learn before playing it for a release. Not a fan of the overall feel of it.
Not sure what to think about this. A high percentage of bands I like are Sub Pop. But this one is Hard to categorize. Varied and scattered. Not overly enjoyable. Initial reaction is downward but then feel terrible constantly criticizing new and unfamiliar things. Oh well. 2/5
I’m not really enjoying this one, I’ll be honest. There’s definite moments, but lots of it is just really meandering and kind of tedious. Not to mention the moments where it’s all out of tune. I know it’s deliberate, but it doesn’t sound good.
3/10
I've heard of the band Sebadoh but I'm not sure I've ever listened to them. It's pretty good garage rock, way lower production of the big dogs of the grunge scene, more in the likes of Sonic Youth. It's a pretty good sound to be honest, and I liked listening to it all the way through. I was having a hard time picking a favorite, as none of the songs really individually grabbed me. Soul and Fire is good, definitely the best produced song, and is probably the best here. I also liked Forced Love. This guy was definitely pretty messed up by his dying relationship, the whole album is about letting it go. Fine album, not my favorite though.
I listened to them in the 90’s. Not missing them now.
emotionally life affirming through the lyrics that stand out through the wonderfully weird noise of the production choices (that might be word vomit)
Not bad. 17 tracks. Not 32
I’d never listened to Sebadoh before and thoroughly enjoyed it!
Good memories
Loved some songs and skipped others. I like the general vibe when it doesn’t get super discordant. I liked songs like “Soul And Fire” and “Happily Divided”—these gave me a little Weezer/Modest Mouse energy and that general more chill vibe that I can tell is a father of surfer/punk rock that came after.
This was not great. I found some of this to be unlistenable, and a few songs were ok.
Er zitten coole ideeën in en af en toe zelfs lekker rock songs, maar het wordt te verstopt onder teveel noise en valse noten. Toen ik 17 was vond ik dit al een rommelige, pretentieuze plaat. Dat is er niet op gebeterd.
Dit is exact het soort muziek dat je verwacht van tieners in een garageband die nog niet helemaal weten hoe hun instrumenten werken. Er zitten echt goeie nummers tussen, en dan echt heel heel slechte.
dissonantie is zoals zout op een maaltijd, als alles perfect in tune is dan proeft het wat saai, en een klein beetje een ruw kantje kan een nummer gigantisch ver op weg helpen Dit is wat er gebeurt als je per ongeluk de hele pot zout in uw eten laat vallen.
Mostly forgettable. There were a couple of songs in the middle that got me leaning towards a 3, but it lost me again after that. I see it's classed by some as a classic breakup album. Maybe I didn't pay enough attention to the lyrics.
Kinda grungy but overall not bad
This album is an example that just because a known good record label put it out doesn't mean it's a banger. 90s alt rules my heart so I didn't hate this but I also understand why it wasn't that big or known.
I picked up everything from Teenage Fanclub to Pavement, with hints of Sonic Youth in between. I like this kind of messy indie but I feel like it's something that takes me time and multiple listens to fully digest. The more I did, the more I enjoyed its better moments but the more I tired of the worse ones. I could cut this down to 20-25 minutes of greatness but probably means I only half-liked it, to be brutally honest.
Es un rock alternativo, grunge, algo core que no logra destacar demasiado. Not gonna lie me da mucha risa el vaivén del tempo.
3 de 5 Obra de transición en el rock alternativo. El disco captura a la perfección la tensión y el contraste entre el lo-fi ruidoso y experimental, y el inicio de un sonido más melódico y estructurado. Cuenta con arreglos más pulidos, sin perder su crudeza característica. El productor Bob Weston ayudó a definir una intensidad sónica única que es a la vez visceral y emocional. A destacar: Track 1 - Soul and Fire Track 2 - Two Years Two Days Track 3 - Telecosmic Alchemy Track 5 - Happily Divided Track 7 - Cliche Track 8 - Sacred Attention Track 12 - Homemade Track 13 - Forced Love Track 14 - No Way Out Track 16 - Think (Let Tomorrow Bee)
Schrott.
Kinda early indie rock sounding. Decent
Utterly miserable. Drony, depressing vocals. Some of the most boring songs I've heard to date. What a waste of time. 1.5/5.
Perhaps it’s a good all-rounder example of what Sebadoh is about, but it’s not the one I’d pick for the 1001. The sprawling predecessor “III” does the same job and, imo, does it better, and the later, more accomplished “Bakesale” and “Harmacy” would be better picks too. Some will point to the wilful weirdness of Eric Gaffney’s contributions as essential to the story, but the quirkiness remained beyond his tenure and not all his material here is his strongest. It’s a moot point anyway because they were never likely to get more than one album in the 1001 and I am more than relieved that they got even that. When I grew tired of grunge (before practically everything now considered grunge) it was because it seemed to have become everything I had thought it was against. It began as outsiders getting the opportunity to express difficult experiences without taking themselves too seriously and it turned into po-faced moaners, sponsored by opportunist major labels, taking drugs badly and writing about being fucked up (with musicality as imaginative as wet cement). I needed OUT, and as far as US alt-rock goes (I was enjoying plenty of other wonderful music), I found my new path in lo-fi. Sebadoh, Pavement, Guided By Voices, Beck. Even seeing those names in front of me, makes me feel better having just had to describe how much I fell out with grunge. I may have got into the other 3 more (still there with GBV and Beck), but for a while at least, Sebadoh seemed like the most important of them all. They certainly had a big effect on my own attitude towards making music, like lo-fi was my punk. Lou Barlow was the master of pure romantic longing allied with self-deprecating ribbing and jumping from a song that “really makes you think” right into one about jerking off. He represented the kind of loser who was too awkward to get out and be part of a the world, but he laughed and cried about it in songs. Much more positive than sinking into an online void of dangerous incel spiralling. Jason Lowenstein on Bubble & Scrape is already showing great worth as a writer too and would go on to prove invaluable following Gaffney’s departure. His value as a band member/musician shouldn’t be undervalued either, way more than just solid on drums or bass depending on what was needed. To me it seems almost a disappointment that LouB has returned to Dinosaur Jr. Of course they are also a hugely important band (and for me, way more grunge than what has come to represent it) but Lou in the 90s was a titan (can awkward, self-conscious, self-loathing indie kids be titans?) but back in Dinosaur has him playing 2nd fiddle. Anyway, long live Sebadoh.
3.5
I barely noticed this album was even on
Low T Foo Fighters? I like this album so far. You can tell they love Sonic Youth and the Pixies and that the Foo Fighters loved them. And all that goodwill is out the window when they go total Sonic Youth on Fantastic Disaster. What is the deal with atonal music? I bet these guys and Beck get along great. This album is very much of its time. On one track or another they sound like every late 80s/early 90s alternative band. It all makes sense now, one of the members is from Dinosaur Jr., another "we sound like the times" band. Yay! Distorted found sound! Album switched to Teenage Fanclub and I had no idea.
Fantastic Disaster - horrible - yelling. Sister - same Elixir is Zog - garbage Album is pretty much a pile of dogtrot
Uselt producerad. Men bitvis några låtar som har något.
Pendlade mellan 1 och 2 under lyssningen, men sen var sista låten så kass att min känsla efter är 1. Inte bra helt enkelt
Ett dåligt Pavement, stark tvåa.
För långt såklart men gillade ändå 90-talsarkeologin. Det var bitvis kul det här.
Trodde jag hatade först men blev omvänd! Rätt charmigt faktiskt. Chockad över att se en 1a från Bert3000. Trodde det var rakt upp i hans hjulhus!
Det här sög. En kamp att ta sig igenom
Did I even listen to this yesterday? Zero recollection at all.
4 out of 5. This band was an interesting discovery.
very mixed bag
# Album Name: Bubble And Scrape # Artist: Sebadoh # Rating: 1/5 # Comments: First song is decent. The rest is a bag of shit. Was this really the same label nirvana was signed to? # Top Tunes: # Would I listen to it again? No
Review - Sebadoh just aren't that good. There was too much indie rock going on at the time and some of it was mid and didn't need to be heard. Score - 3/10 Need to listen? NO
Сара 2 Марко 2,5
I liked the start of the album but I feel like the rest of it doesn't have much substance. Reminded me a lot of pavement and some other slacker rock stuff but I would recommend listening to those instead of this 6/10 Favourite: Sister Least Favourite: Elixir is Zog
Never heard of this artist. As I started to listen to this one, I read about the band to learn more. Then I understood why this type of sound is just uninteresting for me - the singer/songwriter is from Dinosaur Jr.; another band I think is uninteresting. It has acoustic elements I enjoy - fuzzy, warm, noisy, dingy. The composition and sequencing of the music, paired with the vocals, just doesn’t do it for me. At least I learned something new about music.
Almost skater punk but mostly poser music.
Not something I'd listen to again
Muy good! Dad's fav song
Voix nulle Fantastic disaster : dissonant et désagréable à écouter Happily divided sort un peu du lot, j’aurais pensé que c’était de nirvâna Sacrée attention envoie bien ! Élixir is zog est aussi originale Forced love : bien ! Think (let tomorrow be) : bien ! En fait la fin de l’album est même très agréable à écouter ! 7/10
This album doesn’t belong in the list either! It sounded like they were trying to sound like the violent femmes or the B52s and doing a bad job. I was thinking how I’d rather be listening to those bands instead lol.
It was alright, a bit too loose at times
An absolute enigma to me, this record. So bizarre.... the first two songs are really strong indie guitar rock, lo-fi, cool chord voicings, frail vocals..... and then songs three and four are just dogshit atonal nonsense. It's all over the road. I had to go to the Wikipedia- and it all makes sense now. Barlow writes pretty solid indie rock. The other two guys in the band wrote all the totally bizarre stuff. I wish this was just Lou Barlow, and the other guys just contributed their instrumental stylings and not their vocals or songwriting. "Elixir Is Zog" is the exception - totally strange and yet also harmonic and melodic in its own weird way. It can be done! Anyways. The best songs here are "Soul and Fire," "Homemade," and "Elixir." So much of the rest is just not good. That all being said, I'm really glad I listened to this, and I think there are people out there who would love this but have never heard of it before. It's gotta be - THREE STARS
Really great indie/alternative/whatever album. 𝘉𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘦 has that loose, lo-fi sound that feels rough around the edges without coming across as careless. At times it almost sounds like a more intimate, stripped-down version of Dinosaur Jr., which isn’t too surprising considering Lou Barlow had already been part of that band before forming his own identity with Sebadoh. What makes the album work for me is how unforced it feels. The songs can be messy, awkward, even unfinished at times, but that’s also where a lot of the charm comes from. It never sounds like it’s trying too hard to be “alternative” or lo-fi — it just naturally is.
Not bad, but it took me so many sessions to actually finish
Wow… how this made the list is beyond me. The little bit that’s good here isn’t even that good, and the bad is really bad. It hits its absolute low point on track four, “Fantastic Disaster,” which I can confidently say is anything but fantastic.
exactly what i want out of an indie rock album. weird noisy and sloppy in the best ways. loved this shit out of this album
Never heard of this band. Oh these guys are INDIE rock. Cool stuff. Good musicianship. Love the rockness but not heavy, just enough. True early 90s indie rock. Honestly this sounds like it could've been released in the 00s
pavement goes wild
Lots of different styles here. But each attempt at creativity fails, for me. Sounds like a generic local band where the members each like different musical styles but agree to play their bandmates’ music so that everyone will agree to play in their style one time. For example, there’s the short Death Metal piece to upset any groove that was being created. A 1.
Thoughts before listening: Lou Barlow's other band beside Dino Jr and Folk Implosion. This has to be some sort of lo for indie rock. I know this gets lots of praise, but I have never actually listened to it. Review: Yeah I nailed the sound. Some of this is great (i.e. "Sister", "Sacred Attention", and "Homemade") and some of it is too ramshackle and lo-fi for its own good. There is certainly something to be said for the very 90s idea of some dudes bashing out catchy indie rock songs and becoming cult heroes for it, and there are other band I love with this same aesthetic. However, Sebasoh was never one of my bands, and this isn't scratching that nostalgia itch that some of their contemporaries might. Still though, I'm glad I gave this a try, but I much prefer Dino Jr for my Lou Barlow fix. 3-stars
This album gently stands on its own but is mostly a stepping point between other musical movements
Incoherent and musically just noise. Not for me.
Strong 3
Ahh the opening act for the early 90's! It's emo before emo was a thing. Only weirder. Not in the fun weird like Meat Puppets or Primus. More like the annoying kind. I'll bet they are some late 90's band favorite band though.
The style is so different from front to back. As the middle ones, I really don’t like the mixing of country instruments and hard rock
3.5/5 Indie rock album that has a youthful feel to it, with its distortions and imperfections. Some songs stood out over the others, I liked fantastic disaster for its over the top craziness. Elixir is zog has some interesting vocal performances and dissonant guitar sounds. At certain points I felt it became to "whiny" after a while when it's sad love song followed by another similar themed, similar sounding etc.
Favourite Songs: Sister Sacred Attention
The first song was great and I was very intruiged to hear more. Then the album devolved into a bunch of mumbo jumbo
The first 6 songs of the record basically are a microcosm of this one - starts out like a pretty great indie rock record for the first few tracks, gets super weird for a bit, a couple that sort of split the difference. With three different songwriters, it's almost like three different albums at time (see: Tusk review). The Lou Barlow tracks here are clearly the best for me and if you extracted them out by themselves, it would be a great little mini-album. Cliche in particular hits hard with the almost emo-like intro and lyrics but there are some other great moments like the slow, driving guitars on Homemade. The Gaffney songs are just too out there and are sort of a jarring contrast to a lot of the rest and really drag down the rating for me.
Not really sure what this is supposed to be - it really didn’t speak to me. A bit of an uninspiring mess.
Enjoyed it more than I thought. Good Alt.Rock
I like it Will I listen to again: 80%
It's a very good album. I definitely hear the influence of The Stooges. It combines punk rock with 90's alternative and indie music to create this sound that isn't like any other. Some of their work dabbled in experimental rock and adds a nice touch to the album. Just amazing!
I fwwww itttt
5/10 Generic punk music
I like Dinosaur Jr and I like lo-fi, so why had I never listened to any Sebadoh? This was pretty good, even if the democratic mix of songwriters made things a bit patchy as Barlow's songs were often better than Gaffney's in particular.
lol, I probably liked this more than most in this group. I stg, like, 3 songs were absolute f-ing bangers. The rest of the album was absolute gutter punk scream trash. lol. Live on, my boys 🤙🏻
Just another album in the continued trend of everything post 1990 being mediocre at best. Except OutKast… that album slapped
I once saw a quote that said something along the lines of "Punk is the only type of music that doesn't require you to know how to play your instrument", and I don't think I've ever listened to an album where that is more true (and that is coming from someone that actually really enjoys punk). There were a couple songs I genuinely liked, but there were more songs that were genuinely hard to listen to. Interestingly enough, looking at the Wikipedia page, all 3 members of the band wrote songs on the album and all the songs I liked were written by the same person. I think he should leave and start a new band.
I was confused the whole time. It felt like scanning radio channels. I have no idea what they were going for. The have decent skill, but I didn’t get it at all.
Nothing album
🎧Bubble AND scrape? In this economy?? In all seriousness, this album is lousy.
Why is this even on here
What a great listen this was! I’ve only ever heard the album after this, Bakesale, which I remember enjoying way back when it came out. I never got around to hearing any of their other albums so it was a surprise when this came up for this project and I enjoyed listening to it so much! I just love all the noisy experimental sounds that permeates their indie folk rock sound. I heard so much of this kind of stuff back then that I never thought too much of it but now, over 30 years later, this sounds so fresh and exciting compared to most of the modern crap that’s out there right now. Yet another band that I definitely need to dig into their discography!
As with Husker Du and Warehouse Songs... what a bizarre choice to be the sole entry for this band on this list! Not sure I'd even place Bubble and Scrape in Sebadoh's top three, let alone a top 1,001 albums ever list. Bakesale is their best album and it's not even close! Harmacy is second, then it would be either this or Sebadoh III. So there! This brand of ramshackle lo-fi was my go-to music in the 1990s. See also Archers of Loaf, Killdozer, Shellac and so on. And me and Lou Barlow were basically twins. I'd see his photo in the music press and think I was looking at myself! Anyway, Bubble and Scrape is a bit messy in parts. Never liked the experimental stuff. But when they performed actual songs, Sebadoh were unbeatable. Giving this a five even though it isn't. The five goes to the band rather than this particular record, the same as I did for Husker Du.
sigh, did not pull a memorable or commendable album today
Teenage me who heard this when it first came out would probably rate it higher. It was also probably written for teenage me. It's still a good album. there's a certain amount of... unconventional... songs in there which may or may not affect your views.
Dreamy
Album all over the place. Some songs were good Standout songs: Two years two days Homemade No way out
Somewhere between Minutemen and Dinosaur Jr is a criminally under appreciated indie band. A must listen for any lover of classic college radio.
idk 2
Feels like wannabe grunge, with jangly indie guitars and off key garage vocals. It’s like shitty Lemonheads. Seven songs in and I just can’t find anything compelling. Add this to the pile of “totally not necessary to hear before you die”.
Not my favorite
cool songs
Goddamn I loved this one so much that the only thing I can do is to give it 5 stars!
This one grew on me the further into it I got, but it still didn’t blow me away. Overall it’s fine one I got past the first few tracks, vocals there seemed a little monotone and monotonous. I’ll be generous and round up to 3 stars.
It's ok - but I felt like all the songs ran together and they sound similar to Pavement. Doesn't really make me want to check out anything else in their catalogue.
Yeah this pretty alright, I wouldn't say I loved it but I found myself enjoying it well enough.
Varias cosas interesantes, las letras tratan muchas temáticas adolescentes como el desamor, amistades rotas y el desenfreno de la juventud, la producción está bastante pulida y muchas canciones tienen guitarras súper enérgicas y agresivas mezclados con sonidos extraños y poco comunes, pero sin dejar de lado algunas canciones íntimas y relajantes muy al estilo indie.
Behind the two very soft, heartfelt and mellow intro tracks hides a very chaotic, noisy and dissonant album that can either be very challenging or have some really solid tunes. Starting from the very beginning, as mentioned, the two first songs are some of the saddest moments of the whole project. The guitars sound really nice and melodic, the voice is super soft and has a tinge of sadness, and the lyrics mainly focus on separation. The second song "Two Years Two Days" might be a more energetic and not as slow as the first one, but still have the same feeling. From here, the album starts to get chaotic. The next two songs "Telecosmic Alchemy" and "Fantastic Disaster" present the challenging side of the record, as the guitar are incredibly dissonant and noisy, with the voices also getting atonal and starting to scream a little bit. This is probably the aspect which makes most people dislike the album, and I get why. In comparison with another noise rock acts, such as Sonic Youth, I don't think they are doing nothing specially interesting, and they are wasting the potential to create something special with all the tension built up by the pure cacophony. Fortunately, there are songs that come back to the melancholic sound of the first ones, like "Happily Divided", "Cliche", "Homemade" and "Think (Let Tomorrow Bee)", and there are also some other songs that are some very solid noise rock with some great riffs. For me, some highlights under this category are "Sacred Attention", "Emma Get Wild" and "Forced Love". So while I did enjoy the album overall and I think it has some solid moments, I also believe that the best parts aren't super impressive and the worst parts are certainly very hard to sit through. As a side note, one of the founding members of the album is Lou Barlow, which is mostly known for being the bass player in Dinosaur Jr., so I guess this might be the reason why this got added into the list.
Liked it
I was really really into this. Soul and Fire is amazing. The album is cohesive throughout the rollout but not repetitive. It has a great, interesting sound, and good lyrics. I will definitely continue listening to Sebadoh. And this album made me feel excited after a couple of days of listening to albums that have a similar sound.
sabadoh.
Too messy, don’t have any rhythm.
Nie je to zlé, ale nie je to skvelé... Podľa názvu skupiny som si myslel, že je to nejaký heavy metal, bol som pomerne prijemne prekvapený...
3.5 Bit surprised by a Sebadoh entry. Thought Bakesale would have been the one featured. Gave this a quick listen, sacred attention stood out. I will listen to this album again instead of throwing on bakesale next time
Enjoyable, but not especially memorable, 90s indie rock.
I don't think I've heard of these guys. But it's promising being that it's an early 90s album :D Hm, Im kinda digging this honestly. I love the rawness of it. The acoustic sounds. So cool how every decade has like a signature to the music. Cliche proves that. I like it. Might be giving this one a 5. Was still living in Montana when this came out. Only 14 yrs old. We didn't really have any way to have been exposed to this. Maybe Missoula had some stations that would play this kind of stuff.
I hate to admit this about my hometown heroes, but I had trouble getting through this one. There were some tracks I enjoyed, like “Cliché” and “Homemade,” but for the most part, the band’s disdain for tonal resolution took its toll on me.
Chill coffee house vibes. And then more of a grunge rock bike shop vibe. I've heard of Sebadoh but never had a full listen of their music. Pretty good stuff with a nice 90s feel. 3.5
Meh.
The only thing this album has going for it is that it came early enough in the alternative rock sphere to be considered a noteworthy - but not essential - album to its development. That's really where the positives end for this profoundly unmemorable, in-one-ear-out-the-other slacker rock album. Hardly any of the songs even get past the 3 minute mark, and while I can never fault a song for being concise, having a full album of 2 and 1/2 minute mid-tempo indie rockers makes them all blend into each other. At least punk songs have some energy to them: this whole album feels like it was recorded late at night and the band didn't want to wake anyone up. It also suffers from the early alt rock trope of doing everything at once, which makes the whole thing feel very catch-all and like it's just trying to see what will stick. The only song that really stuck out to me "Elixir Is Zog," which has a genuine wiry energy that would have easily kicked the album up a notch or 2 if the band stuck with it (that's some pretty cool Dax Riggs style screaming; I was not expecting that on this album!) At one point the instruments sound like they ran out of batteries. Honestly, all the high-energy songs like "Elixir," "Sister" "Telescopic Alchemy" and "Bouquet for a Siren" are the best songs here, but it still only gives about an EP worth of material, and the songs would still need to be cleaned up afterward. The ramshackle performances recall Pavement, but they don't quite have the snarky pop songwriting down pat, so it ultimately ends up sounding messy for no real reason. It's an ordinary, forgettable album that combines a lot of influences in an academic sort of way: there's nothing here that Dinosaur Jr., R.E.M., or Pavement didn't do better.
This was the least interesting band that came out of the lo-fi era. This is Pavement without the personality, Dinosaur Jr without virtuosity, GBV without the mad genius of Robert Pollard. I didn't like it
inte min grej
Didn’t need to hear this before I died.
rugged comes to mind, some decent tracks
Feel like this started with a lot of promise but got quite bland relatively quickly. Is it trying to be grunge, is it garage? Not sure it even knows itself.
Good album. Raw, garage style indie rock. Not surprisingly, I learned that one of the members plays with Dinosaur Jr. I liked the innovative sound and energy of this album.
I remember not liking them in the 90s as they were on Subpop but being disappointed they weren’t grunge. This is decent but not really my style (still!)
First listen
Bubble And Scrape is a great name for a harsh album buried with treasure. Over its runtime, it felt at times like I was being punished for desperately seeking out the more touching moments promised by the record's opening track "Soul and Fire." This is truly one of the greatest breakup songs ever written, and what follows seems like Sebadoh immediately lashing out at me in response to their own vulnerability. What starts as a very earnest balance of sweetness and atonal jerkoff sessions quickly slides into favor of the latter. Side A summoned new and inventive ways to torture and annoy me from a time before I was born. The wanky guitar, fried harmonica parts, I was just trying to explain it all away in my head to pass the time. I don't even want to think about most of those songs again if I'm being honest. Side B softens and mellows appreciably, and even doubles back towards that aforementioned balance of acridity and sweetness conjured so naturally by the slacker rock greats. Just when I thought I had paid my dues, the outro to "Bouquet for a Siren" suddenly points a Side A shaped pistol at my temple - a stark threat in case I get fidgety and try to engage seriously with the material again. I don't want to go back and check, but I think it was that song: There was the opening notes of a delay-soaked free horn part over a tangle of guitar noise I had already sat through scowling. However, right as I was going to get super angry, the song abruptly ended. It was as if the track had the Side A gun, turned it on itself, smiled knowingly, and pulled the trigger. If the collection of songs is meant to corroborate an experience of the songwriters, that can be beautiful. It can also be total BS, even if it's totally honest. This album, much like life, had both. Also much like life, I had no say in it other than ending it prematurely, which I did not do. Maybe this is the point -- there is joy and pain and loss and hope, and you must bear all of it if you decide to participate, come what may. It could also be that the record's just not as good as I remember and that other one is better. It pains me to say that my favorite part of the listen-through might have been at the end, when a song's intro perked my ears up but when I checked for the title it was a Teenage Fanclub track on autoplay - That would have been my favorite if not for "Soul and Fire," which was the cotton candy so naively washed clean by the raccoon in the stream, only to disintegrate in his little hands.
When this album is good, it's GOOD, but when it is bad it's dire. Highlights: Soul and Fire, Two Days, Happily Divided, Cliche, Sacred Attention, Sixteen
Intro had my hopes up high but this is like a friends band I have to ignore invites to. They sound like they were really into the slower nirvana songs. I’m a big sub pop fan and idk why this is on this list compared to other records of that year even. It’s fine, will never return to this.
Never heard of them until now. Some great sounds and solid production.
esse aí não me prendeu nem por 3 minutos peço perdão
Some really good tracks
A bit of this and a bit of that. Ok mostly. 3 stars
Not really sure on this one. Some songs were straight awful and some were lacking kick. I feel as though this album was simply not my favourite.
What a load of rubbish: I had to stop the album mid-play, for the first time in the challenge. Wrong notes, out-of-tune chords, inconsistent timing on top of the already poor drumming: someone’s deliberately trying to sound wrong and ugly here, perhaps in some sort of belated punk attitude. A sound straight out of the rehearsal room, completely amateurish, but lacking in charm and originality. I’m too old for this kind of rubbish.
Solid lo-fi noise that I found mostly pleasant. Liked Songs Added: Soul And Fire
I did not listen to all of this. Looking at the number of streams on Spotify, I'm sure I didn't miss some epic tracks on the last half. It's alright, but looking at RateYourMusic, this is the group's 4th best album there, and it gets a mere 3.39. It's not bad, but I have better things to listen to, and it doesn't belong in this project, so I'm giving it 5 out of 10 and rounding down. Two stars.
Shout out dinosaur jr shout out Lou barlow this is a 10 it’s always going to be. A musician who can do no wrong. I love me some noisy, wandering punk shouting over good bass man it just clicks.
There are a few tracks that somewhat resemble actual songs but most of this is just half baked ideas of musical expression over repetitive guitar notes and barely competent drumming. Just the kind of weird shit Pitchfork gives a 9+ review to but this is not for me
Another album which shouldn't have made the cut.
I think that if I'd heard this in the 90s, my rating would be higher. But listening to it for the first time with 2026 ears, it was just okay.
It started off kind of boring but not horrible, then it switched to horrible. I have an alternative listening suggestion if we're exploring bands that emerged in the early 90s. Tool is not on this list. I have to ask why Sebadoh and not Tool? Musicality and influence vs. whatever grunge ripoff this album was.